St. John's University Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John's vs. No. 13 Butler
12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin...
On the turnaround:
"I wouldn't really categorize it as anything but a legitimate process. We all knew the situation we were coming into and to expect anything else would be somewhat unrealistic. Going through it is tough. Last year, we had a whole bunch of guys that knew the deal...Part of the process is dealing with those emotions, the ups and downs and being able to focus...Games like this give them the confidence and the trust in each other that what they're doing is right. We preach that each and every day, but there is nothing like positive reinforcement."
On Shamorie Ponds:
"He's a really phenomenal player, but he also has that [calm and cool] personality. That is his demeanor on and off the court. He doesn't really show a whole lot of emotion, but yet he's a fierce competitor. He's very focused and has a high basketball IQ. Sometimes he's so good and so calm that you forget he's just a freshman. I have no doubt in him. After the foul, I felt he would make our free throws...He's a special player."
On gaining confidence after beating Syracuse:
"When you have a game like [we did at Syracuse], that night you feel great...We haven't really backed our good games up consistently. That's a direct correlation to our experience. I was told all the time, most people can have a good game here and there, but the really good players do it consistently. It takes experience and time. Someone asked me last week why I'm optimistic and it's because I know they are working towards that."
On the play of Darien Williams:
"He's played great. Darien's had a few shoulder surgeries and he's been banged up a little bit, but a few weeks ago he played really well. He also played a really good game at Syracuse. He's a great teammate and he had a phenomenal game. He kept us in the game in the first half. He's really smart defensively, always in the right place and he competes. That's what I was talking about; each and every guy came in there and contributed. Darien did a nice job."
On the crowd and atmosphere:
"It was really nice to see the people out there. It was good our guys came through and gave them something to cheer about. I kept saying that it's waiting to blow up, [we need to] give them something cheer about. I'm happy for them. A few of our guys are local so they get to play in front of their family and friends. There is nothing like that so we have to keep it going and sell this place out every night."
On the strength of the BIG EAST:
"The way the BIG EAST is set up right now, it's really back to its original form where you're going to really have some great rivalries. Real rivalries."
Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds...
On the final seconds of the game:
"I was just confident. I was confident going to the foul line and saying, `I'm going to make these two free throws.' First of all, I just want to credit the crowd. They were amazing. If it wasn't for them, we would not have won this game. It helped us a lot."
On beating 13th-ranked Butler:
"It means a lot. That was a big win, especially at home. They're a good team and in the second half we just cut down on our mistakes and got the win."
On staying composed in a close game:
"We just tried to stay together and stay poised. When they took the 10-point lead, we just stayed together and we fortunately came out with the win."
On believing in themselves:
"We needed this win. Syracuse was a big test for us. Going to Syracuse and beating them by as much as we beat them by, it was a good test for us. We feel like every game, if we come out and compete, we will be unstoppable."
Junior guard/forward Bashir Ahmed...
On staying composed in a close game:
"We just stayed together and fought it out. We knew Butler was a good team. They were fighting out there. We knew they were going to come out hard, so we came out hard too."
On the confidence level after the Syracuse game:
"That definitely gave us confidence. Syracuse is a good team, but I felt like that kind of helped us coming into this game. We came into this game with more confidence. We knew Butler was a better team, they're ranked 13th in the nation, so we just wanted to go out there and fight hard, and I felt like we did that today."
On playing power forward:
"It opens up a lot of things for me. Bigs guard me, so I feel like it's easier for me to get to the basket. It opens things up for my teammates, like drive and kick, so I definitely like it."
On playing a physical game:
"This is what we've been waiting for. I've been watching St. John's for a long time and the BIG EAST is one of the best conferences, so we've definitely been waiting for this. It was definitely exciting playing out there."
Butler Head Coach Chris Holtmann...
Opening Statement:
"I want to begin by giving St. John's credit. I thought they made more plays down the stretch than we did. [I'm] certainly disappointed in our approach, but take nothing away from St. John's, they played well. We obviously need to get much better."
On what went wrong:
"It's really a litany of things; we could go down the line. I thought our defensive approach mirrored our approach in general. We had an immature approach to the game and we didn't provide nearly enough resistance for them. They made some plays. [Marcus] LoVett's two-pointer in the corner to the tie the game was critical. They made some plays so give them credit. We weren't nearly tough enough in our approach and when that happens, this is what happens. Right now we're a long ways away from being a good team. We have a lot of stuff to figure out in a short amount of time."
On Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett:
"I think both of them, [Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds] are terrific. They can get their own shot, get others involved, they're dynamic with the ball, they're both outstanding players. They're a handful and they are going to be that way for a number of years."
On Kethan Savage:
"He had some good moments and then some moments that I'm sure he would like to have back with some of his turnovers. But he's provided some good lift."
On the improvement of St. John's:
"I think they are better. I know they've been banged up. When we were watching them on tape, the addition of those two guards and Bashir [Ahmed] really makes them a load. Time will tell, but it certainly felt like we were playing a team that was markedly better."
